The first-ever FIFA Series™ matchday was played on Thursday with wins for Guinea and Cabo Verde, while South Africa had to settle for a draw against Andorra. Guinea outclassed Vanuatu with a 6-0 victory in Jeddah, while across town Cabo Verde had a tougher time edging a single-goal win over Guyana. The evening concluded in Algeria where South Africa fought out a 1-1 deadlock in Annaba. Designed to offer meaningful matches for nations who do not normally play against each other, the pilot edition features the national teams of 24 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) playing in five countries across three continents. The action continues on Friday with a hefty schedule of eight matches with one further match on Saturday before Sunday’s rest day.

FIFA Series 2024 Algeria™ Andorra 1-1 South Africa FIFA Series 2024 Saudi Arabia™ A Cabo Verde 1-0 Guyana FIFA Series 2024 Saudi Arabia™ B Guinea 6-0 Vanuatu

Guinea 6-0 Vanuatu Missing inspirational captain Brian Kaltak, Vanuatu found Guinea far too strong as the Africans raced to a 4-0 half-time lead. Mamadou Kane and Morlaye Sylla both scored a double with Ousmane Camara and Kandet Diawara also on the scoresheet. Guinea will now tackle Bermuda on Monday while Vanuatu will have the opportunity to atone with a match-up against Brunei Darussalam a day later.

Cabo Verde 1-0 Guyana A well-credentialed Cabo Verde had a tough time overcoming Concacaf nation Guyana. While Guinea took the matchday’s goalscoring honours, it was Tubarões Azuis’ star player Ryan Mendes who netted the tournament’s historic first goal with a second-minute strike against Guyana. Cabo Verde will look to make it two from two on Monday against African counterparts Equatorial Guinea, while Guyana meet Cambodia on Tuesday.

Andorra 1-1 South Africa Andorra prevented an African clean sweep by holding South Africa to a 1-1 draw in a late-evening kick-off. Cucu netted after just six minutes for the European side before Elias Mokwana equalised midway through the first half to ensure parity in a hard-fought contest. The action in Algeria continues on Friday with the hosts taking on Bolivia, with all four nations in action again for a second and final time early next week.

You can follow all the matches here.